(Image Credits: Oliver Ashby)
The second year housing crisis overwhelms social media platforms like TikTok, as well as everyday university conversations. I haven’t gone a day without hearing or witnessing some sort of drama relating to housemates my entire second year of University thus far. From nightmare kitchens to war in the living room, second Year will likely haunt most people I know.
The rush to find student housing and housemates when you’re only a couple of months into your first year of uni is incredibly daunting and no doubt the cause for such nightmares in second year. Having to choose who to live with from a bunch of strangers you’ve just met is incredibly difficult and feelings always end up hurt.
Every example I am about to highlight are all true stories from current second years as well as my own experiences about the nightmares of 2nd year housing. So first years beware of your future and the rest of you enjoy reminiscing the joys of nightmare housemates.
Being in second year accomodation is a Hunger games level survival with nightmare housemates stealing your food. From your milk to your snacks, the leeches you live with will scrounge in your cupboards for anything they can get. But don’t worry they’ll say that they will replace it!
The nightmares begin the instant the contracts are signed. People drop out before the keys are even given, leading to the struggle of finding a replacement tenant so late into the game. All your friends have already signed with other people so you have to result to Facebook groups and the York Snapchat stories. How embarrassing! More than likely the people you find on Facebook are bottom of the barrel. In our struggle, a post grad computer science boy asked to fill the spot in our house; a house of four girls going into second year. He honestly couldn’t have been a worse fit (sorry), glad we passed on that.
When I eventually moved into the house, I was greeted by a mould-invested mattress and a pair of used boxers in one of the drawers. I wonder what the cleaners did for the whole two weeks they had to get the house ready for its new tenants. To say that everyone I know is paying around the £190 a week mark, if not way more, the housing companies shouldn’t allow new tenants to move into their properties that are barely liveable.
It’s a cannon event that everyone at University will experience, having an unhygienic housemate that clearly hasn’t done chores once in their life, making it your problem. From never washing their dishes to pissing in the kitchen sink (boys) I’ve seen and heard it all these past few months. Cups growing mould and raw meat left open in the fridge, I’d dread to be the vegetarian that had to deal with that. It is unbelievable how some people think the world works, using your tupperware to catch silverfish because apparently they are really clean creatures that he needs to keep the kitchen clean. Don’t worry first years the drama around bins won’t disappear going into your second year. If a rota isn’t developed you’ll end up playing Tetris fitting your rubbish on top of the already overflowing bins.
That outrageous deposit you’ve paid will never be seen again, especially if boys are involved in the picture. From holes being punched into the wall to floorboards being snapped in half, that deposit was gone the second you thundered through the door.
The biggest struggle from moving out of student halls into the house is the amount of communal items you have to split between the group, toilet roll, washing up liquid, bin bags, and much more. However, there is always one person who does not contribute in the slightest. They will happily use way more of the communal items than the person that paid for it and usually get away with it. These little things add up and friendships change because of these behaviours.
Many people will also experience the awkwardness of people’s partners moving in. Coming to university the independence gets to peoples heads, moving away from mummy and daddy gives them a power trip. So of course the most logical step is to have your partner move into your student accommodation. However, for the housemates that have to deal with a bonus housemate that they didn’t sign up for, they have to suffer the repercussions. If you are not bills included, the costs rise from having an extra person using the water and electricity. On top of that you have to deal with the constant public displays of affection in your kitchen (like jeez, get a room).
I struggle to find many positives in second year housing when all I hear is tales of nightmare housemates. So to answer the question “Is the second year house curse myth or fact?’ It is most definitely a fact. Surely next year will be different…